Odd Future is Right: An Interview with Hodgy Beats about Charlie Sheen, Justin Bieber, and Growing Up Rough

Oh I don't watch that shit, I don't watch TV dude. I'm fucking out of the TV loop.

Are you wise on the internet though?

I don't know, I'm basically all over the place when it comes to what entertains me. If anything, just Twitter, Tumblr, hip hop sites.

Oh yeah, all that stuff that updates four hundred times a day.

I'm the only one in O[dd] F[uture] that can't keep up, I swear. Everyone's like “oh yeah, yeah we’re into that new shit,” and I'm like, “nah.”

But that's what they're for, to hook you up, right?

Shit, I just found out about Charlie Sheen like yesterday. That's how bad I am.

Charlie Sheen is a rock star.

I mean, his word choice is just so perfect. It's like, how can you be around him, he's so clever. That shit's crazy.

Since you don't watch TV, how did you feel about the Fallon gig?

Oh, I watched that. And shoot, it was great. Honestly, when we were rehearsing, not even filming, but just rehearsing, I was freakin’ nervous.

Hahaha.

Because, going from the set, to a couple hours later seeing ourselves on TV—it was my first time seeing myself on TV—it was kind of a shock. I had a moment. It was crazy.

Did you get all teary eyed?

No, not really, but it was heartfelt.

You guys seemed like you were having fun with it.

Yeah, I mean that is natural—that is like breathing to us. Having fun is just normal. It’s what we do, whether on stage or wherever, we do some shit and make music.

Did you feel like there was extra pressure, more than at your usual performances, just because of Mos Def being there and all that other business?

Nah, Mos Def’s been at our shows in New York, and being in front of a crowd is not really bad, or doesn't really make me nervous at all, it was just the fact that I knew the world was watching. That's what makes me nervous, but I was just fine. I'm good.

So it seemed like that Fallon thing pushed you guys onto the national radar a little bit more. One thing I was curious about, you know Esquire magazine?

Never heard of it.

It's like some fancy pants GQ-type magazine, for dudes. For legit older men who wear suits.

Are they like forty?

Haha, maybe. But they had an article about you guys online, asking who the hell you are. And it had a quote in there—it said that you guys were terrifying, and that you would scare the shit out of parents and Republicans.

[laughs] I think that's funny.

Do you buy that description?

I don't think we're terrifying. I mean, you put me in an artistic category, I don't think terrifying would be the word. I mean, like, if people look beyond the gaudiness of Tyler’s video and actually see the effort that he put into making it, I think they'd appreciate it more. Like our music, the shit that we say, some people are like, “Oh my god! How can they come up with some shit like that?” Exactly, ask yourself that fucking question.

Do you think there's gonna be some backlash from some of your lyrics? From the Republicans and such.

Well, it’s not really about Republicans. I mean, I don't care who I piss off by saying anything because most of the shit that we say, if it’s not us being sincere to ourselves, it’s probably us competing in the studio to see who comes up with the most disgusting verse or some shit. So, they can talk all the fuck they want to but they're not there when the music's created. So, I'm not worried about anything.

So you guys actively try to one-up each other and push the envelope even further?

Oh hell yeah, hell yeah. That's why I think our music is so good. It's such a production. But a lot of, at our shows, the kids sing along to every fucking word so the lyrics must contain some type of catchy content or something that someone likes.

So, as you guys get bigger, who do you see as being your audience?

Well, I think the people in the crowd that sing along to every single word that we write down, that are singing to our songs, are kids that actually relate to us the most. I believe they will be at our shows. And even the people that are latecomers to our music, that are just hitting me up on twitter thanking us for our music and they just found out about us and it's crazy that they have...I mean, I believe that there's a connection.

Tyler's talked a lot about wanting to be “Kanye Huge” and all that. I was wondering from your end, with MellowHype and all that, how big do you think that you guys are gonna get?

Odd Future image from Couch Sessions

I don't really think about that, honestly. I just know what I want to be, and I aim for it. I don't like thinking too much, 'cause that fucks with you.

It's just interesting to imagine where this is all gonna be in three years. You know, is it going to be Madison Square Garden? Is that the type of thing that you are actively shooting for?

Hell yeah, hope so. Actually, I saw the Justin Bieber movie and I was telling my girlfriend, like, “yo, we gotta get to Madison Square. There's no way we're gonna be able to stage dive but fuck it, we have to do that shit.”

Are you and “The Biebs” real tight?

I personally don’t know him. I’ve never met him. I’m kind of a fan actually. He kind of motivated me because of his movie. I never really listened to any of his music until after I seen the movie. So he’s safe.

Did you see that he played in that NBA basketball celebrity game? He schooled everybody.

Yeah that’s tight. That’s fuckin’ real. He’s got this picture on tumblr and he’s flickin off the camera. That shit’s going to happen.

You guys are pretty young, so I was wondering if you could give me just a little bit more background? Like, how was your growing up experience?

I mean…it was difficult. I had a single mother; she was married a couple times. I didn’t get along with any of her husbands or boyfriends or whatever. I was the oldest out of me and my little sister, so I kind of got the end of the stick. I was usually kicked out a lot. I did do bad shit, though, in high school. Get fucking arrested, into drugs, steal shit, just things that a younger male would do if his father figure wasn’t around to teach him because I’m not always going to listen to my mom. Especially if she can’t discipline me in the right way. It was pretty hard. I guess that’s what makes me such a sincere artist. Or it seems like I’m more serious with my music, more than playful. I guess that’s the way I cope with life.

When did you head out west?

I moved out west when I was 8 years old.

You were getting in trouble a lot with school and the law?

Yeah, that shit was weak [laughs]. My mom knew some of the police, too, so I’d kind of get off the hook sometimes. But that just let me out, and I’d just go out and do some more shit and then get in trouble again. But then sometimes I’d actually get in trouble.

So is all that stuff ancient history now?

Yeah, oh yeah, that’s just way over. It maybe started at twelve and ended at seventeen. That shit’s over with.

So what does your mom think of all this crazy attention that you guys are getting?

I don’t really talk to her so I don’t know. But I do hear from my sister. She’s proud. She’s proud.

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Odd Future and its members are playing a slew of shows at SXSW, including Mess with Texas and parties for Billboard, Vice, Fat Possum, and Brooklyn Vegan.